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I'm glad I'm not familiar with any of the sequel series this season, or the first couple of weeks would be even more hectic than they're shaping up to be.
After much deliberation, I have here thirteen series for blogging consideration, and only about five or six permanent spots (if I wish to retain my sanity, in any case; let's not forget I have two running RRVs and one carryover). As always, none of these are set in stone, and I could just as easily choose none or all, or even pick something from outside the mix that slipped under my radar. If you wish to see a particular series on the schedule, feel free to vote for your most anticipated series in the poll on the navigation sidebar.
Arata Kangatari 「アラタカンガタリ 〜革神語〜」
Studio: Satelight/JM Animation
Blogging Status: Will likely blog
This is actually on my list of most anticipated series this season, if only because I'm already familiar with the source work. I don't love Watase Yuu's various manga, but there's no denying she's pretty famous for a reason. Honestly, I haven't had the time or willpower to keep up with Arata lately, despite being a manga I rather enjoy. That being said, the plot is more or less straightforward: two boys in alternate worlds who share the same name switch lives, and one ends up in a modern labyrinth while the other ends up being persecuted and forced to live as a woman in a fantastical world. It's a shounen battle series, but it should be a good one, if my memory serves me correctly.
Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge 「断裁分離のクライムエッジ」
Studio: Studio Gokumi
Blogging Status: Tentative
So... a guy who loves to cut hair, a girl whose hair is cursed to never be cut, and somehow all of this leads to a murder game? Well, I suppose I've heard weirder premises, though I do have to wonder if hair fetishes are becoming a thing in anime lately. Still, I can't just dismiss every strange premise on a whim, or I'd never find jewels like Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita. I'm willing to give this a go, and maybe I'll find myself pleasantly surprised; it can't be worse than being too conventional, I think.
Date A Live 「デート・ア・ライブ」
Studio: AIC Plus+
Blogging Status: Tentative
I suppose my list isn't very accurate statistically as to what's happening this season, because Date A Live is only one of very many light novel romcom/harem adaptations this season. This one, however, happens to also be sci-fi (of which there seems to be great abundance as well), though the basic premise deals with a boy making girls fall in love with him in order to stop them from destroying the world (sounds an awful lot like TWGOK, but without the devils and video games). I don't know how I'll end up liking this, but it won't kill me to give it a go; you never know where the sleeper hits will come from, after all.
Devil Survivor 2: The Animation 「デビルサバイバー2」
Studio: Bridge
Blogging Status: Tentative
Another series I'm already acquainted with. Last summer, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 was on my gaming list, though I unfortunately didn't get too far (I got caught up in another game I bought at the same time). What I played of it was pretty fun though, and I'm interested in seeing it adapted into an anime, if only because that transition from game to series is often rather curious. The story here is that the three protagonists are involved in a cell phone game that predicts the moments of people's deaths. When they try it out, they witness each other's deaths and are wrapped up in a much more complicated conflict than they expect.
Ginga Kikoutai: Majestic Prince 「銀河機攻隊 マジェスティックプリンス」
Studio: Dogakobo/Orange
Blogging Status: Tentative
Continuing on the sci-fi trend, we get our first mecha this season, a pretty straightforward one. Humans who are beginning to colonize the Final Frontier require protection against hostile aliens, and thus teenage "Princes" are engineered to pilot the craft used to fight them. Seeing as mecha is a pretty established genre, I'm not expecting anything too novel or groundbreaking; since this is a genre I'm especially familiar with, I'm simply looking forward to the simple enjoyment of it all (plus, you know, I love space, Jupiter especially).
Hataraku Maou-sama! 「はたらく魔王さま!」
Studio: White Fox
Blogging Status: Tentative
One of the few slice of life/comedy series to make it on my list this time. Why this one? Because White Fox produced Jormungand, and that's a check in my book. The Demon King idea is starting get old very fast, however, even if this one entails the struggle of a Maou to become a working citizen in modern society. This is also another light novel adaptation, something I'm seeing quite a lot of lately, though not necessarily with the best results. We'll see if this is worth following soon enough.
Kakumeiki Valvrave 「革命機ヴァルヴレイヴ」
Studio: Sunrise
Blogging Status: Will likely blog
Hurray, more mecha! Really though, I was really happy to see this on the lineup, since Sunrise is the studio behind Code Geass, an overly-hyped but nonetheless great series I'm considering putting up for RRV after Eureka Seven and Toradora. That, of course, doesn't guarantee quality, but it more than gives me a reason to expect something more from this. The mecha formula is heavy here too: humanity has moved out into space, and a teenage boy finds a mecha during a military attack, presumably piloting it to protect his country from invasion.
Karneval 「カーニヴァル」
Studio: Manglobe
Blogging Status: Tentative
Josei manga adaptations are rare, which is actually a bit of a shame. The josei denomination is far more interesting than the shoujo one, so it's nice to see a few getting nods from the studios. This is an action series which revolves around two wanted criminals who become involved with the national security organization "Circus" after a particularly dire situation. I'm not sure how serious a series this is planning to be, but it does sound interesting enough that I'm moderately excited to take a look.
Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san 「波打際のむろみさん」
Studio: Tabunoko
Blogging Status: Unlikely
The second comedy/slice of life series I'm probably following this season, though I'm not particularly interested in blogging it unless it really shines. The me a few years ago would never have given this even a second look, but I've had quite a bit of fun with mermaids in anime (Seto no Hanayome made me die of laughter at least twice) and it doesn't hurt to have fishing thrown in there, I suppose. The reason I'm not very willing to blog this has nothing to do with my expectations for it; comedies are simply very difficult to talk about because they're not usually very deep experiences.
RDG: Red Data Girl 「RDG レッドデータガール」
Studio: PA Works
Blogging Status: Will likely blog
After seeing what the novel medium can do when adapted into anime form with Shinsekai, I'm all for seeing how RDG handles itself. This is a fantasy series dealing with Shinto lore in a modern setting, with a rare female protagonist to boot. There isn't too much information I could glean, but for now I think it's safe to say this will probably be on the schedule, unless it proves itself absolutely terrible within the first two or three episodes.
Shingeki no Kyojin 「進撃の巨人」
Studio: Wit Studio
Blogging Status: Will likely blog
Possibly the most anticipated series this season, Attack on Titan is yet another sci-fi entry, though one with a very popular manga for a basis. The premise is certainly intriguing: humans are forced to live within walled-off cities to protect themselves from the attacks of creatures known as Titans which attack people indiscriminately. To miss out on this would be foolish, even if I weren't a sci-fi enthusiast, so this is almost guaranteed a spot on the blogging schedule.
Suisei no Gargantia 「翠星のガルガンティア」
Studio: Production I.G.
Blogging Status: Will Likely Blog
Is that Urobuchi Gen's name I see on a series that doesn't seem to be utterly depressing? For me, this is neither a plus nor a minus. I like Urobuchi's work just fine, but this is the type of series that thrives on character development and emotional depth, something Urobuchi doesn't normally concentrate on. Of course, Suisei could potentially turn out to be very different from what I'm imagining, but a sci-fi adventure on a water-covered planet presented in a bright palette doesn't sound too dark, does it? It also doesn't hurt that it's another mecha. At the very least, it will be interesting to see how Urobuchi handles this.
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 「宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199」
Studio: Xebec/AIC
Blogging Status: Tentative
This isn't technically a new series, but seeing as I've yet to watch it, it's on my list regardless. I confess I've never watched the original Space Battleship Yamato, but I've heard good things and I've been meaning to get around to it. This may just be the impetus I need to do so, though whether or not I'll be blogging it is another question entirely.
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